Two more measles cases in Contra Costa

Two men who are related to a UC Berkeley student who came down with measles earlier this month now also have the disease, public health officials said Friday.

The first case prompted a public service warning from health officials to BART riders, urging them to watch out for symptoms of measles. The student, who lives in Contra Costa County, had commuted to Berkeley via BART for several days before he was diagnosed with the illness.

His two relatives, men in their 20s and 30s, self-quarantined at home after the student was diagnosed. None of the three men had received a measles vaccine, according to Contra Costa County public health officials. The first patient is believed to have contracted measles while traveling in the Philippines earlier this year.

Contra Costa public health officials said people who rode BART between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 may have been exposed to the measles virus and should continue to look out for symptoms through this weekend; measles symptoms typically appear one to two weeks after exposure. Only people who have not been vaccinated, or who have never had measles, are at risk of getting sick.

More than 15 cases of measles have been reported in California so far this year, at least half of them in people who chose not to be vaccinated against the disease, state public health officials said. The state typically sees a handful of measles cases every year, but there were only two cases in the first two months of 2013.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through the air. Symptoms of measles include high fever, runny nose and watery eyes. Measles can be confused for a common cold or the flu early on, before more specific symptoms such as a rash and conjunctivitis, or pink eye, set in.

Most cases are not serious, although measles can make people uncomfortable for a week or longer. But up to 20 percent of people with measles will develop complications, including pneumonia. And it can be deadly, especially in young children and people who have weak immune systems.

Widespread vaccination in the United States has nearly eradicated the illness here — almost all cases are imported from other parts of the world. But the Bay Area has several communities where childhood vaccination rates are much lower than the rest of the state. Public health officials advise that anyone who is not vaccinated, or who does not know his or her immunization status, should seek the measles vaccine now.